Cityscape

The arts can play an important role in the rehabilitation of those who’ve suffered both mental and physical trauma, from stroke sufferers to survivors of domestic violence. As part of WFUV's Strike a Chord campaign, we conducted a panel discussion at BronxNet Television.  Our guests included:

• Suzanne Tribe, a music therapist who works with the Healing Arts program at Montefiore Health System.
• Lindsay Aaron, an art therapist at Montefiore. She works with adult patients within the oncology and palliative care departments.
• Ariel Edwards, Community Arts Director at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York.  The Clay Art Center has a workshop for people living with cancer.
• Dolores Anselmo, someone who benefits from the Clay Art Center.

When it comes to electronic dance music, Moby is a legend.  He was the genre’s first rock-star. Moby was born in Harlem. But, grew up as a poor kid in a rich town in Connecticut. In the late 1980’s, Moby was drawn to what he calls “the dirty mecca” of New York City.  The short ride on Metro North into Manhattan would provide him with a world of opportunity.  As a DJ and electronic musician, he became a staple of the rave scene. But, Moby’s ride to international fame wasn’t always a smooth one.  He recalls a decade of hardship in his new memoir, Porcelain, which is also the title of a song on Moby’s wildly successful album Play. Cityscape Host George Bodarky recently talked with Moby about his road to success, as well as his name, which in case you didn’t know, has a direct connection to Herman Melville.

From Coney Island to Green-Wood Cemetery to Prospect Park, Brooklyn has a whole lot to offer locals and tourists alike. The borough has a tremendously rich history with a variety of vibrant neighborhoods. Many of those neighborhoods have seen a great deal of change over the years. Freelance writer Ellen Freudenheim has witnessed that changed first hand. She’s a long-time Brooklyn resident and recently completed her fourth guidebook to the borough. It’s called The Brooklyn Experience: The Ultimate Guide to Neighborhoods and Noshes, Culture and the Cutting Edge. Ellen is our guest on this week's Cityscape.

New York’s Central Park has longed provided respite from the bustling concrete jungle. The park was designed by landscape architect and writer Frederick Law Olmsted and the English architect Calvert Vaux in 1858 after winning a design competition. Central Park has a wide array of amenities from running and bike paths to a swimming pool to ice skating rinks, but it’s the park’s trees and landscapes that are the subject of a new book. It’s called Central Park: Trees and Landscapes: A Guide to New York City’s Masterpiece. The authors are long-time park enthusiast Edward Sibley Barnard and Neil Calvanese, the Central Park Conservancy’s former Vice President for Operations and chief arborist. Barnard is also the author of another book called New York City Trees: A Field Guide for the Metropolitan Area. Cityscape host George Bodarky recently took a walk with Barnard to check out some of Central Park's magnificent trees.

For at least some people the word grandma still conjures up images of a little old lady sitting on a rocking chair and knitting. And while that may have been a largely accurate portrayal at one point in our history, you can’t paint grandmothers today with such a broad brush. Veteran journalist Lesley Stahl is a grandmother of two, and examines the role of grandparents in society in a new book called Becoming Grandma: The Joys and Science of the New Grandparenting.  Lesley joins us on this week's Cityscape to talk about her book. We also talk with another journalist whose working to shed new light on the role of grandparents in society. Her name is Olivia Gentile and she’s the brains behind a website called The Grandparent Effect.

New York City is a frenetic, fast-paced and noisy place, but thankfully there are plenty of areas to find solace in the concrete jungle, including at the New York Botanical Garden. The 250-acre site in the Bronx is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. For more than a decade, Larry Lederman, photographer and member of the NYBG’s Board of Advisors, has been observing and photographing the Garden in all seasons and at all times of day. We visited with Larry at the Garden to learn all about his work.

New York City's theatrical community has a rich and storied past. But, ask most people about Yiddish Theater and chances are they know only one show with a Yiddish connection -- Fiddler on the Roof. But, the story of Yiddish Theater spans well beyond the mainstream stage.  A new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York dives deep into the history of Yiddish Theater. The exhibit is called New York's Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway, and is accompanied by a book of the same name. The woman behind the project, Edna Nahshon, is our guest on this week's Cityscape.

If you’re a baseball fan, there’s nothing more thrilling than when you’re favorite team advances to the World Series. Mets fans had that thrill last year. Although their hopes of winning the championship were dashed when the Mets lost to the Kansas City Royals in Game Five of the series. It was a much different outcome for Mets fans in 1986. The Amazins won the World Series that year in a match up against the Boston Red Sox. But what happened after the champagne stopped flowing? A new book explores that question, looking at where life took several members of the '86 Mets after their big victory. It’s called Kings of Queens: Life Beyond Baseball with the '86 Mets. The author is sportswriter Erik Sherman. He's our guest on this week's show.

It’s America’s "favorite pastime." Both the Bronx and Queens are buzzing this time of year with the Yankees and Mets in action. Baseball has rich history in New York, and of course, across this great nation of ours. A new book delves deep into that history. It’s written with kids in mind, but enlightening for baseball enthusiasts of any age. Our guest this week is Richard Panchyk, author of Baseball History for Kids: America at Bat from 1900 to Today.

Imagine running a highway through Washington Square Park. That could have happened. Urban planner Robert Moses put the idea on the table in the 1950s. But, then Jane Jacobs intervened. The urbanist and activist led the successful fight against the four-lane highway, as well as other Robert Moses' projects. Jacobs was opposed to the kind of city planning that involves big development and urban renewal projects that tear down old communities. She’s best known for her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Jacobs’ ideas have often been met with criticism from developers and city planners. But, a lot of planning experts agree that her work helped to shape modern thinking about Jane Jacobs would have turned 100 on May 4th. Several activities are planned in New York City and beyond this month to celebrate her life and legacy, including an event called Jane’s Walk. On this edition of Cityscape, we're exploring the life and legacy of Jane Jacobs.